Lawrence Shankland brace helps managerless Hearts fight back to beat Ross County

Hearts ended a turbulent week off the pitch with three points on it after defeating Ross County 3-1 in Dingwall.

The Jambos, who sacked manager Neil Critchley following last weekend’s loss to Dundee, fell behind to a first-half Ronan Hale goal but the visitors were the better side throughout and a double from Lawrence Shankland turned the game in their favour.

The Hearts captain would then turn provider for Alan Forrest to cap off the victory with a third in the 82nd minute, consigning County to a sixth league defeat in a row.

Forrest had a couple of sighters early on to test home keeper Jordan Amissah, but it would be the home side who took the lead in the 26th minute.

Nohan Kenneh did well in the middle of the park to muscle his way past his marker with the ball, finding Hale ahead of him who connected well with his strike to beat Craig Gordon and find the bottom corner.

Around 10 minutes before the interval there was a heart-in-the-mouth moment for Amissah, who gave the ball away to Jorge Grant 30 yards from goal.

Hearts were able to work the ball to Shankland, but Amissah atoned for his error to make a good save to preserve his side’s lead.

The Jambos had another chance minutes later after James Brown gave the ball away, leading to a two-on-one for the visitors.

Shankland picked out Forrest, but his first touch was poor and he ended up sending his eventual effort over the bar and out of the stadium.

The pressure would finally tell in the 40th minute though, when Shankland turned Jonathan Tomkinson inside out before firing past Amissah to level the scores.

The first chance of the second half came County’s way, as amid shouts from the Jail End in Dingwall for a penalty, Hale and then Jordan White saw shots from inside the Hearts box blocked.

Hearts would quickly take control again though, and would go ahead just before the hour mark when Shankland turned a cross in from close range.

Practically straight from the restart, Forrest found himself through one-on-one with Amissah, and would have made it 3-1 if not for a timely block by Zac Ashworth, before Blair Spittal hit the bar from 20 yards out.

It did become 3-1 in the 82nd minute, when an Akil Wright slip in his own half allowed Shankland to move forward with the ball and tee up Forrest for a simple finish.